Thermostatic water mixing valves are well-known, and can be found in both residential and commercial settings. In either setting, the mixing valve combines two water flows, primarily hot and cold water flows, into a stream of mixed temperature water for discharge from the mixing valve and through a faucet. While such conventional mixing valves provide some benefits, including regulated water outlet flow, they nevertheless have certain limitations. For example, the internal components of conventional mixing valves wear prematurely, which reduces ease of operation and the life of the valve. Also, conventional mixing valves are susceptible to imprecise temperature control of the mixed water which is discharged from the faucet to which the mixing valve is operably connected. Examples of conventional mixing valve having these limitations are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,593 to Ottelli; U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,018 to MacDonald; and, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,462 to Osvaldo.
The present invention is provided to solve the limitations of conventional mixing valves discussed above and other problems, and to provide advantages and aspects not provided by prior mixing valves. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which precedes with reference to the accompanying drawings.